Prior to establishing Tebano & Associates, PLLC, Maria was a principal at Ainsworth, Sullivan, Tracy, Knauf, Warner & Ruslander, PC, an Albany area firm, for over 16 years. After leaving Ainsworth-Sullivan, Maria then went on to head the litigation department at the Albany firm of Tully Rinckey, PLLC. She is admitted to practice before all courts in the states of New York, New Jersey, North Carolina and Florida. She is admitted to practice before the Northern District of New York, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit, and the U.S. Tax Court.

Maria earned her B.A. degree in psychology from the State University of New York at Albany, her J.D. degree from St. Thomas University School of Law and then went on to obtain a Master of Laws in Taxation (LL.M.) from the University of Miami School of Law.

Maria has been featured as a speaker for the National Business Institute (NBI) and Lorman Education Services on a variety of topics, including civil litigation, and family and divorce law. She is an active member of the Albany County and New York State bar associations and is fluent in Italian.

Maria received the AV Preeminent designation signifying that she has been rated by judges and fellow attorneys as having the highest possible rating for legal abilities and ethical standards. The rating is awarded to less than five percent of all attorneys across the United States, and is the highest rating offered by the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory.

Maria also recently earned the prestigious "Client Distinction Award" from Martindale-Hubbell®. This award was made possible by her clients who completed a survey and rated her exceptional in the areas of:

· Communication Ability

· Responsiveness

· Quality of Service

· Value for Money

Maria earned a Client Review Rating Score of 4.5 or higher on a scale of 1-5. Less than 4% of the 900,000+ attorneys listed on martindale.com and lawyers.com have been accorded this Martindale-Hubbell honor of distinction. This award serves as a point of reference which tells clients and potential clients, that others have confidence in her work.

The AV Preeminent and
Client Distinction Award rating are nationally-recognized acknowledgments of an attorney's accomplishments and skills, and is known to position her among the elite practitioners in the country.

Maria was recently listed with the Martindale-Hubbell Bar Register of Women Lawyers, which is only awarded to those Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent peer review rated women that offer top-quality representation in a given practice area. Only those women lawyers that have achieved the AV peer rating and have been designated by their colleagues as preeminent in their field are included.

Maria has been recognized by the National Academy of Family Law Attorneys, which is an organization devoted to recognizing the top family law attorneys in the nation. The NAFLA awards the best family law attorneys in each state with the most prestigious honor of being named "TOP 10". Less than 1% of attorneys make the list. The attorneys that make the list are those that have demonstrated an extraordinary amount of knowledge, skill, experience, and success in the practice of family law.

Super Lawyers has recognized Maria as among the top 5% of attorneys in New York State in 2010 through 2014 and The National Association of Distinguised Counsel have selected Maria as a Member of the Nation's Top One Percent of attorneys in the United States. Maria can has been featured on the following sites:

Maria has also been recognized with a 10.0 or "Superb" rating from the Attorney rating site AVVO.com. The AVVO site which evaluates lawyers based on favorable client and peer reviews and recommendations has recognized Maria with the highest possible rating. One of the most important considerations when evaluating an attoney is the level of respect that attorney has earned in the eyes of their clients and other attorneys in the community. The perfect rating is a reflection of Maria's commitment to achieving the best possible result for her divorce and family law clients.

Maria has been selected by the American Institute of Family Law Attorneys as being one of the "10 Best" Attorneys for the State of New York. The American Institute of Family Law Attorneys recognizes excellence of practitioners in the field. This is an exclusive list of the "10 Best" Attorneys for New York for Client Satisfcation in the practivce area of Family Law. This is a significant achievement.

Maria has also been featured by numerous media outlets for her expert knowledge of family and matrimonial law and her expertise in civil litigation. She has appeared in local print and broadcast news outlets, including local television appearances. Some of Maria's media appearances include:

To see or hear more of Maria's media appearances, visit the In The News section of our website.